


Calliope and Melody

by briefoptimisticspaceaffair



Category: Paradise Hills (2019)
Genre: Based on Paradise Hills (2019), F/F, I had this idea after watching Paradise Hills (2019), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, read if you want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/briefoptimisticspaceaffair/pseuds/briefoptimisticspaceaffair
Kudos: 1





	Calliope and Melody

Calliope and Melody 

Calliope awoke to darkness. And Calliope knew in that moment of pure blinding terror that they had found her. Something was moving beneath her. Calliope assumed she was in some box, trunk lined with harsh fuzzed material. Calliope could barely breathe. How had it all gone so wrong? 

Two Months earlier, it was early summer and Calliope was taking her scheduled walk at half eleven down the rose lined walk near the edge of the gardens. It was just by the high stone wall and Calliope liked to imagine pushing through the bushes and scaling the wall to freedom. But Calliope would never. Besides, Calliope told herself she wouldn't get very far. Even under the cover of darkness they would find her.

“Miss” one of the many butlers interrupted Calliope’s thoughts and she startled realising she had stopped walking and had been standing still staring at the wall. Calliope gave the butler a false smile “silly me, I do love the roses” Calliope said and swiftly continued her lap around the walkway. 

Dinner time was as usual incredibly unpleasant. All the girls would sit stiffly practically pinned to their chairs. Calliope pushed the delicate sprig of shaved asparagus so tiny it was practically nonexistent and thought of a time when she once ate actual food. 

Finishing school. A Hell in its making. Promising young women from well to do families got put in finishing school for one real express purpose. To crush any real spirit. There had already been five suicides. 

Calliope’s father had sent her and by the end of the year, she would be out. He wished Calliope to take over some aspects of her father’s company. He wanted Calliope to do what he wanted. Say what he wanted, be who he wanted. The pretty face of the company, nothing more. 

Calliope fully intended to undermine her father’s every move. Calliope would finish the year. Calliope would be the pretty compliant mascot and she would burn it all down. Calliope knew what her father did and she intended to give the workers rights, proper wages, better working conditions, safe housing. Real food. 

“Miss” another butler interrupted Calliope. Calliope dutifully ate the meger food and rose along with the other girls. One girl was pale and swaying. 

Calliope was going to burn it all down. No woman, no worker, would ever be suppressed again.

A new girl had arrived. She was frantic. Making a scene. Screaming. Calliope was surprised when the girl managed to escape the butlers hold if only for a moment before they caught her. She looked at Calliope, her blue eyes burning. She was dragged out of sight.  
Calliope climbed the stairs to her room contemplating scaling the wall once more. It wouldn't be impossible to use the bed sheets and curtains to climb out the window and down the wall. It wouldn’t even be that far to the wall and then Calliope could stay off the roads until she reached the town. From there Calliope could take a couch to the port and then a boat to Spain and she would be free. Free to live. 

The girl was in Calliope’s room. She was tying the bedsheets into a rope. Calliope felt a rush of adrenaline surge. Calliope desperately wanted to take the girl far far away from this place before it got to her. “I don’t care if you tell on me. I’m leaving.” The girl said with finality. Calliope fell a little bit in love with her. “Well?” the girl demanded looking nervous despite obvious confidence. “Are you just going to stand there?” 

“This is my room” Calliope heard herself say. Calliope felt her face warm “um-please-don’t mind me. Continue.” Calliope knew her face had gone red and she hurriedly shut the door and went over to her bed wishing her hot cheeks would cool already. The girl eyed Calliope warily, clearly cautious of Calliope. She seemed to come to a conclusion “I’m Melody” Melody offered.

“I’m Calliope,” Calliope said. Melody laughed slightly and Calliope bristled insulted that Melody found her name funny. “No no,” Melody interrupted Calliope’s indignation “I’m sorry, it just, my full name, it’s Melpomene, and you know Calliope, Melpomene,”  
“-Muses” Calliope finished. Melody nodded giving Calliope a shy smile. 

Calliope mentally threw all her inhibitions away and joined Melody on the bedroom floor braiding the bedsheets together. “It's stronger if you plait them and tie it every metre or so.” Calliope explained to a somewhat stunned Melody “It's about six metres from the window to the ground” Calliope continued easily forming the handmade rope.

“You’ve done this before” Melody said incredulous and questioning. Yes. Calliope had. Within her first week here, after the first girl died Susan she’d only been seventeen. Her body had laid cold on the stone. Susan had jumped from the tower. Calliope had got as far as the wall that night. Calliope had stood for about half an hour thinking of all the other girls before she’d turned around and gone back. Two days later Calliope had found Elene crying in the bathroom, ready to cut her wrists with a plastic razor. Calliope had stopped Elene. And Calliope had whispered promises of safety into Elene’s hair as Elene sobbed trembling in Calliope’s arms. Calliope had pulled a favour with her father and Elene was now in Spain. “Yes,” Calliope said.

Night came a few hours later and Melody prepared the hand made rope. Melody turned to Calliope “are you not coming?” Melody asked, confused.  
“No I’m not” Calliope shook her head. Another rush of want filled Calliope and she thought again of leaving, getting the coach from town, and a boat to Spain.  
“Why not?” Melody demanded suddenly in Calliope’s face having abandoned the window. Calliope swallowed. 

“If I leave, Claire will stop eating. Diana too, and if I run I won’t ever have the power to stop this, to make sure girls are never abused by society. I’ll never be able to destroy my father’s factories and give his workers actual rights, I-”

Melody cut Calliope off “You think you’ll be able to do something?” Melody scoffed disbelievingly “You won’t. I’ll tell you why. You're a woman. Women have no power, even with all the power in the world” Melody furiously argued her dark eyes burning angrily. 

Calliope was unsure how to react.


End file.
